


The Royal Snow Day

by blueboxesandtrafficcones



Series: Queen of Hearts [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/M, Modern Royalty, Morning Sex, Royalty, Sex, Snow, Snow Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:02:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueboxesandtrafficcones/pseuds/blueboxesandtrafficcones
Summary: Rose’s first snowfall in Gallifrey exceeds her wildest dreams, as her royal fairytale continues.  The ensuing snow day leads to an unexpected, melancholy conversation that ends with a hopeful look to the future.Part of the 'Queen of Hearts' series.
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Queen of Hearts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1444390
Comments: 12
Kudos: 43
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020





	The Royal Snow Day

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 of 2020's 31 Days of Ficmas.
> 
> Prompt: snowed in

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

“Oh, c’mon,” Rose whined, reaching out blindly to swat at the alarm. “Fuckoff.”

Ian’s answering snicker said he was already awake, the sheets rustling as he spooned up behind her. “Good morning.”

“Too _early_.” Still, she snuggled back into his arms, reveling in his warmth. “Mhmm.”

“Has it snowed, since you’ve been here?” The kisses he pressed against her neck were thoroughly distracting, so much so she almost missed the question.

“No, why?”

Her husband merely chuckled, the arm around her waist squeezing her. “Open your eyes.”

It took her a long moment to overpower the urge to curl into him and drift back to sleep, but when she finally did as he said, she was _so_ glad she did.

“Oh!”

When they’d gone to bed the night before the sky had been clear, with trees as far as the eye could see, the Alps rising majestically in the distance. When the leaves had started falling a month before, Rose had understood for the first time how drastically the elevation could change in her new home; for quite a ways into the distance the trees were bare, their leaves having changed and fallen, but behind them were evergreens, sloping up the side of the Alps until they stopped abruptly; past that point was nothing but whiteness climbing towards the sky.

Now, though- now, the sky was full of clouds, and the grounds looked like a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in snow, bright and cheerful despite the grey sky, and even as she watched, the flakes continued to fall.

It was spectacular, almost out of a movie, and she was surprised at the tears pricking her eyes. “You _live_ like this?” she breathed in awe. “Is this normal?”

The breath of Ian’s laugh was hot against her neck. “Sometimes. More so in years past… Definitely when I was a kid. Used to be able to ice skate on the lake, even. But d’you know what the best part of this is?”

“Oooh, snowball fight? Please say snowball fight!”

“No- I mean, sure, we can do that- but actually, until it stops and they’ve had time to start the cleanup, we’re stuck here.”

That was enough to tear Rose’s gaze from the window, and she twisted around to face him. “We’re snowed in?”

He nodded, pushing some loose hair out of her face. “For the time being. No engagements with our public today, I’m afraid. And since that was our whole schedule…” One of his knees nudged at her own, and she obligingly lifted her top leg to let his slide between. “Our day is wide open. How would you like to spend it?”

“Honestly?” When he nodded, she glanced back over her shoulder. “I’ve never seen so much snow in one place at one time. I’d love to just… go out and play in it. Snow angels, snowball fights… You know, like you see in films. Bet Sophia and Sebastian would like that- they’re still young enough I think.”

“That sounds like fun,” he agreed, smiling. “When, now?”

Rose rolled onto her back, looking first towards the window and the picture-perfect snow, then to her husband, warm and naked beside her. “Depends,” she said coyly. “Is it better to sort of pre-warm up before we go out, or to wait until we come back in?”

“Hmmm…” Ian settled himself above her, so close they were almost touching, but far enough away to mostly be a tease. “Well, in my professional opinion as a doctor-” he paused to suck at her pulse point, “I would recommend both. Some pre-activity to… get the blood flowing as it were, then once you’re back inside, a hot shower, maybe a soak in a steaming tub…”

“Is that so?” she drawled, letting her legs fall apart before tugging on his hips, encouraging him to lay flush against her. “And would you recommend these as solo activities?”

The corners of his mouth turned up, but he hid it by kissing his way across her decolletage to the other side of her neck. “Oh, no. It’s very important to always have a buddy with you,” he said earnestly. “Someone to keep an eye on you… check for hypothermia, that sort of thing.”

Rose nodded, scraping her nails lightly along his spine, smirking when his hips jumped. “Whatever you say, Doctor.”

He dipped his head, kissing her deeply, and she arched up against him in response. Even after six months together she still got the same giddy feeling in her stomach, heart soaring at the merest taste of him, her very universe narrowing down to where they touched, the rest of the world be damned. It didn’t hurt knowing that he was equally affected by her, the evidence hot and throbbing against her thigh.

Yet the picture-perfect scene playing out on the other side of the glass called to her too, and though she tried to hide it, her husband knew her well enough at this point to sense her distraction. To his credit, though, he was chuckling as he pulled back.

“Do you want to stop to watch the window?”

Biting her lip, Rose gave him a sheepish smile. “No, I want you…” She ran her hands down his back to his arse, squeezing for emphasis. “But, maybe a change of position? D’you mind?”

“Of course not.” He backed away, sitting on his heels. “And we don’t have to- I promise I’m just as happy holding you and watching the snow fall.”

Sitting up herself, she took a moment to look around before nodding decisively. “Right.” Nudging him out of the way, she positioned herself on her hands and knees in front of the window, before glancing back at him over her shoulder. “Does this work?”

Ian was already slotting himself between her knees, one hand rubbing at her hip and thigh as the other brushed against her slit. “Uh huh.” He met her eye as one long finger probed her opening. “You’re _supposed_ to be watching the snow.”

“Git.” Facing forward again, she marveled at how the storm seemed to be picking up. “I’m going to remember this.”

By the time they collapsed in a sweaty, sated pile, the view was a whiteout and second to the heat between them.

* * *

“This is absurd.”

Hands on his hips, Ian stared out the ballroom doors to the patio incredulously – or attempted to, given that their view consisted solely of snow. Heavy, packed snow that covered the doors so thoroughly he wasn’t sure anything truly existed past them.

“It seems to be a snow drift, Your Majesties,” Jabe shrugged. The manager of the grounds, it would be her team’s job to clear the snow, and he made a mental note to ensure they all got fat bonuses in their next check. “It’s not nearly so bad along the sides of the Palace, or necessarily the front, but it may take several days to clear the lakefront side or the drive. In these conditions, we cannot even begin until it stops, and though it has slowed, we do not want to be caught out in it if it increases again. As it is, we will need to dig our way from the sides.”

“We’re really snowed in,” Rose breathed. “I mean, this is… Wow.”

Their hands tangled together, and even as Ian worried for his subjects, her childlike wonder warmed his heart more than he could say. “The Queen would like to go out in it for a bit. How do you recommend we do so?”

“Over my dead body, to start.”

He turned to see his aunt striding towards them, bundled in a thick jumper, eyes narrowed in their direction.

“I’m afraid she’s correct,” Jabe said, apologetic. “At least, in her implication – it’s simply too dangerous at this time. Several of my braver groundskeepers attempted to go out the front, and suffice it to say it did not go well. The worst injury was a sprained wrist, and several bruised prides, but it was enough. We cannot risk Your Majesties’ health or safety.”

“What about- and maybe this is stupid, I don’t have much experience with heavy snow- but like… climbing out a first-floor window? It wouldn’t be too far down…” Rose trailed off as they stared at her. “Never mind, just a thought.”

Ian smiled kindly at his wife. “Perhaps if we were twenty, but I think we- or at least I- am too old for that. And there’s no way of knowing how far you might sink into the drift. I don’t want to have to call your mother and explain you drowned in _snow_.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed easily, squeezing his hand. “Though, personally, I’d be more afraid of Donna.”

He shivered dramatically at the idea, making her giggle. “Ooh, don’t make me think about it. Very well, we surrender to our house arrest. Is there any support we can offer to Arcadia, or the rest of the country?”

“No, not now.” Sarah shook her head. “When I saw the storm start last night I reached out to the Roadworks Department, but they were on top of the situation. We’ll likely need to cut them a check for overtime as they certainly hadn’t budgeted for all this, expecially not as a one-time dumping at the start of the season, but that was all the support they need- at least for now. The worst of it is here, along the lake- once you get a kilometer or so inland it’s not nearly so heavy.”

“That’s good,” Ian and Rose said in unison, before grinning at each other.

“Have you spoken to Donna?” he continued. “I suppose this means they’ll need to extend their trip.”

Sarah nodded. “She’s heartbroken at the delay of course,” she said dryly, “but will soldier through. The children are thrilled to have another few days with their grandparents.”

Rose tensed next to him, but other than shooting her a curious look, he ignored it for the moment. “All right, I’ll give her a call in a bit. Thanks for the update. We’ll be up in our suite. A hearty soup or stew is sufficient for dinner tonight, I think- something simple. I don’t see a need for anything non-essential to be done today, but I’ll leave it to your discretion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The women curtseyed as Ian turned to leave, tugging Rose along with him.

They walked in silence until they reached their bedroom, where he helped her out of her warm outerwear they’d optimistically put on.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Rose sank onto their couch, curling up in the corner and staring blankly at the fireplace. “I’m fine.”

Biting back a sigh, he settled next to her, careful not to touch her. “Rose.”

“I just… realized something I hadn’t thought about before. It’s no biggie.”

“If you’re sure.” He didn’t believe her, but didn’t want to push, knowing she would come to him when she was ready. “Want another log on the fire?”

She didn’t answer but he did it anyway, enjoying the burst of sparks as the new log caught and started to burn. She didn’t say anything when he draped the throw from the back of the couch over their laps, and she still didn’t speak as they watched the fire crackle and occasionally leap.

“My mum’s the only grandparent our children will know.”

He started at the sound of her voice, having been nearly hypnotized by the silence and the flames, and turned to look at her. “Yes, she is,” he agreed cautiously. “And I have no intention of trying to keep her from them, if that’s where this is going.”

“No, I know that, it’s just… I guess, I always thought I’d marry something with parents- someone who could give my kids a grandfather, someone who could… could almost be a father to me. I say _always_ , but it’s only really in the last decade or so once I got off the estate, but still.”

“I had a similar epiphany when my father died,” he shared tentatively. “In amongst all the things I’d officially lost- never really had, I suppose- like my career and my freedom, I realized that… because I’d been concerned with my own wants, I missed out on the opportunity for my future wife and children to know my parents, and for them to know, well, _you_. And our children. To make them proud. They were proud of my career, that I was helping people even if it wasn’t in the way they wanted- they thought I should have spent time learning how to rule at my father’s side- but… they wanted me to settle down, have a family. I’m sorry they didn’t get the chance to see that, though I suppose if they had it wouldn’t have been with you, and _that_ I cannot regret. My point being- I know how you feel.”

Rose shifted on the couch, moving curl into his side. “The real problem with all of this,” she sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder, “is that she’ll feel the need to make up for being the only one, and spoil our kids absolutely rotten. I mean, at least your parents had Donna and knew the twins, but I’m all Mum’s got, so our family will be the sole focus of her grandmotherly love.”

He couldn’t help but smile stupidly at the idea. “That’s all right, I suppose. We’ll just have to have many children, to spread out the attention.”

Rose took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “Depending on your definition of ‘many’, I agree. But for now…”

“Yes?” He watched her stand, taking a moment to admire her; the glow of the fire behind her made her seem ethereal, like some sort of goddess too good for the world blessing him with her presence.

She tugged on their joined hands, smiling coyly. “I could use some warming up. And this doctor I know says that body heat transmitted bare skin to bare skin is the most efficient way.”

“Well, if you insist…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! We may be seeing more from Ian and Rose before the Ficmas game is over... ;)


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